Lent 2014 Theme, Six Marks of Discipleship
based on the book, “Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church”, Michael Foss
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 TVB
23I passed on to you the tradition the Lord gave to me: On the same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He took the bread in His hands; 24and after giving thanks to God, He broke it and said, “This is My body, broken for you. Keep doing this so that you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me.”25After they had finished dinner, He took the cup and in the same way said, “This cup is the new covenant, executed in My blood. Keep doing this; and whenever you drink it, you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me.” 26Every time you taste this bread and every time you place the cup to your mouths and drink, you are declaring the Lord’s death, which is the ultimate expression of His faithfulness and love, until He comes again.
Last week Pastor Short spoke of daily prayer as one of the six marks of discipleship. Today I will speak about, weekly worship. If we need a measurement for ourselves, then I would agree that making a serious commitment to partake in weekly worship is one way to measure. That being said, this is not a measurement that we as individuals should apply as a judgment towards others, to gauge if they are committed disciples.
When we use this commitment as a measurement, it is only a beginning of what worship is, does and means to us and others. Worship in itself is more than showing up on Sunday morning. I am sure that some of you may have heard a term that is similar to one used to describe those that just sit and watch TV. For churchgoers, it would be a “Pew Potato”. Worship requires commitment and involvement both upon our part but also upon God.
No pew potatoes
In Worship we gather as people of God, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Through the hearing of the Word, both in scripture and through the Spirit in preaching, we encounter God. It is the eating of the bread/Body and drinking of wine/Blood, that we have the opportunity to be in communion with God, each other and Christians around the world. It is then that we are sent to be with others, as Christians and be the light with Christ, for the world. We are a gathered as community to be scattered into the community.
As we heard in the reading from today, Jesus (God) gathered with the disciples (Just like you and I). There is a confession for the sake of all sinners for forgiveness. Jesus is the Word, the good news, the Gospel. The sacrament was established in the bread and wine, the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Lord and Savior. The Gospel of Matthew says in 26:33 (TVB), 30The meal concluded. Together, all the men sang a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, and then they took a late evening walk to the Mount of Olives. This is a sending in a hymn of praise and they left from where they were gathered, to be later scattered into the community.
In the case of the “Last Supper”, this worship included a meal that we now call a sacrament of Holy Communion, or a church word of Eucharist, both meaning the same. This is not required in worship but as Martin Luther said, take of it as often as it is offered. When Communion is offered here on Sundays, in the weekly service, it can bring a deeper connection and commitment to God.
Worship on a weekly basis leads to finding ways to be involved as God intended. Weekly worship can help us to see where God is involved, creating life…all the time. Weekly worship is formative for us and for those we encounter.
When we actively worship as a community, we are a changed people and the weekly worship has the opportunity to lead to worship in so many other forms along the road of discipleship. The road of discipleship is an infinite road that cannot be done alone. It is encountered through God and community. As we travel the road we have our failures because we are sinners. Yet we are Disciples of Christ and are the saints as well. All of this is realized in our worship of God the Father, creator of all seen and unseen.